There is a continued and growing world interest in the role catalysts play in synthesis of petroleum- and renewable-based products for fuels, specialty chemicals, environmental controls and process efficiency. The importance of catalysis is reflected by the fact that 25-30% of all manufactured goods in the U.S. involve at least one catalytic step. Therefore, it is crucial for U.S. scientists to participate in activities that foster collaborations and new ideas in an area that impacts over a quarter of the U.S. economy.
This proposal requests partial travel support for 25 U.S. academic participants so they may participate in the 15th International Congress on Catalysis. The 15th International Congress on Catalysis which will be held in Munich, Germany on July 1-6, 2012, will bring together experts from around the world to discuss all the developments on the practical and new understanding in catalysis over the last four years. The scope of the 15th International Congress will include all types of catalysis (homogeneous, heterogeneous and others) related to innovative and current topics, with emphasis on prediction of catalyst performance and characteristics.
One of the primary purposes of this travel grant is to provide support for junior faculty to participate, as well as to support women and underrepresented minority candidates. This is an ideal opportunity for these groups to establish international collaborations as well as to understand the cutting edge of catalytic science and engineering.
NSF AWARD #1228024 was a travel grant that was applied for the partial travel support of 19 U.S. chemistry and chemical engineering graduate students and /post-doctoral scientists (University of California - Berkeley, University of California - Davis, Purdue University, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin, Stanford University, University of Delaware, University of Minnesota, University of Oklahoma, Yale and Tufts University) to attend the 15th International Congress on Catalysis (Munich, Germany - July 1-6, 2012). The travel grant recipients were required to only book US air carriers for air travel to the 15th International Conference on Catalysis (Munich, Germany). The International Congress on Catalysis is the premier catalysis conference that allows the participants to interact with the international catalysis community from academia and catalysis-related companies. The participating graduate students and post-doctoral scientists were exposed to the latest development in fundamental and applied catalysis by attending lectures by others, giving presentations about their research progarms and social interactions with members of the international catalysis community. The technical feedback that that the participants received will undoubtedly have a positive impact on moving their research programs forward. In summary, the U.S. graduate student and post-doctoral scientist participants were exposed to the latest fundamental and applied developments in catalysis and had a transformational educational experience that will allow them to further advance catalysis science and technology upon their return to their home institutions in the USA..
